USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Pittsburgh > Biographical review : v. 24, containing life sketches of leading citizens of Pittsburgh and the vicinity, Pennsylvania > Part 13
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Jonathan Davis was only four or five years old when his parents moved to Centre County, and settled near the Eagle Iron Works in the vicinity of Bellefont. Withdrawn from the common schools at the age of twelve years, he began working in the iron works. Since he was fifteen years of age he has been entirely self-supporting, and has made his own way in life. In 1860 he came to Pittsburg, and went to puddling iron, which occupation he was en- gaged in up to 1890. Since then he has lived retired. Mr. Davis has always been inter- ested more or less in political affairs and in matters pertaining to the general welfare. He has been Treasurer of the borough for the past nine years, and for five years was a Justice of the Peace. He is a Democrat in politics, and in religious faith a Baptist.
On the 14th of May, 1848, Mr. Davis mar- ried Miss Mary A., daughter of John C. Long and Mary (Parks) Long. Of the fourteen children born to them James M. is deceased. The others are: Rachel, Mary E., Jacob, Caroline, Sarah Catherine, John G., Joseph E., Ella, Minnie L., Eva, Clarence, Blanche, and Mabel. Rachel married David Coots, and has a family of eight children. Mary E. is
the wife of E. F. Riley, and has five sons. Jacob married Annie Schafer, who died leav- ing two children. He contracted a second marriage with Missouri Myer. Sarah Cather- ine married Henry Flocker, and has two chil- dren. John is married to Louise Shorr. Jo- seph E. married Mary Knies Davis, and is the father of four children. Ella wedded John Grine, and has three children. Minnie L. is the wife of Nicholas Brecht, and has two chil- dren. Eva is the wife of William Wilson. and the mother of two children. Blanche is now Mrs. John Bender. The parents have thirty-four grandchildren, and six great-grand- children. Mrs. Davis is a "Disciple " in re- ligious faith. The family have lived in their present home for about twenty-six years. When Mr. Davis's father came to Pittsburg in 1820, the site of the present court-house was the centre of a wood. Mr. Davis is an honorary member of the Junior Order of American Mechanics, and is much interested in the development of the organization.
ADWARD H. POND, M. D., one of the active physicians of Pittsburg, was born at Burton, Trumbull County, Ohio, March 18, 1862, son of John N. and Maria A. (Thompson) Pond. Massachusetts was the early home of the Ponds. From there the family went to Vermont, where the grand- father, Joel A., was born. Joel, one of the early pioneers of Townville, Pa., was a farmer and a physician, and lived in the earlier days in a little log cabin of his own erection. Ile became one of the prominent men of the town. His son John, born at Townville, attended the Cleveland Homoeopathic Medical College; from which he graduated about the year 1861. While still an undergraduate, he married Miss Maria A. Thompson, an adopted daughter of
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John Dalamater, of Townville. After receiv- ing his degree he settled at once at Burton. He was in active practice there until 1865, when he removed to Meadville, Crawford County, his present place of residence. The Doctor is a member of the American Institute of Homoeopathy. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which Mrs. Pond has been a zealous worker. They have three sons - Edward H., George H., and Ralph E. Ralph is also a physician, and in business with his father.
Edward H. Pond attended the best schools of Meadville, and graduated from Allegheny College there in 1883. After a short time spent in preparatory studies he entered the medical department of the University of Michigan, and, taking a three years' course, graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medi- cine in 1886. In the same year he also re- ceived the degree of Master of Arts. Dur- ing this last year at college he was in prac- tice at the hospitals. He then settled for practice at Meadville, where he built up a large general practice, became the City Doctor, and was physician for the county jail for three years. In 1891 he came to Pittsburg and entered into partnership with Dr. C. H. Hoff- man on Penn Avenue. Since 1895 he has occupied his present residence, 2041 Wylie Avenue, where he has acquired an excellent practice.
Dr. Pond is a member of the County and State Homeopathic Societies, and he has been the secretary of the County Society for the ; past four years. He is also a member of the Dispensary Staff of the Homoeopathic Hospi- 1 tal. When a young man he joined the Na- tional Guards, Company B, of Meadville, in which he was Sergeant Major, Captain and Aide-de-camp on the staff of the Second Bri- gade, the three promotions being awarded him
on three successive days. He was on Governor Beaver's staff; but, when his time expired, he left the State to study medicine, and the staff went out with the General.
In 1888 Dr. Pond married Mary H. Hart- man, of Meadville, daughter of Henry Hart- man. They have one child living - Irene E. Pond. The family attends the Methodist Episcopal church. Dr. Pond is one of the most successful of the younger physicians of Pittsburg. He is held in high esteem by all who know him.
ILLIAM JAMES BRENNEN, attor- ney-at-law and a prominent politi- cian of Pittsburg, was born here, September 9, 1850, son of John and Teresa (Gallagher) Brennen. His father, born in 1820, in the part of the city called the Point, was educated in the public schools, and learned the millwright trade, and was a valued assistant in the Jones & Laughlin's American Iron Works until his death in 1891. John Brennen was a Democrat; and he served as Director of the Public Schools, but was not an office-seeker. In 1848 or 1849 he married Miss Teresa Gallagher, a daughter of William Gallagher, who came from the County Mayo, Ireland. Of their large family of children nine reached maturity; namely, William, Josephine, Mary, John, Linda, Frank, Sadie, Stella, and Jessie.
William Brennen, the eldest child, received his early training in the public schools of Pittsburg and at a private school carried on under the auspices of the Christian Brother- | hood. When he was ten and one-half years old, he went to work under his father's eye in the rolling-mills, where he remained during the war, when much casting and rolling was done for the government. At the close of the
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war he entered the private school referred to, beginning at the bottom of the class. After six months he stood indisputably at its head. He was shortly after apprenticed as a machin- ist for four years in the rolling-mills of Jones & Laughlin, and subsequently worked there as a journeyman until 1872. At the time when his apprenticeship was finished, the company presented him with a kit of tools in token of their recognition of his skill. An expert machinist, he followed his trade for some time in various cities, later returning to Pittsburg. At the age of twenty Mr. Brennen taught a private class composed of young men about his own age who were employed in the mill. In the same period he read a great deal, made a special study of mechanical drawing, and prepared the manuscript of a book entitled "The Machinists' Guide," which, however, he has not published.
In 1880 Mr. Brennen ran for Alderman in the Twenty-fourth Ward, but was counted out. He contested the election, and the court de- cided in his favor; and he afterward filled the office from 1881 to 1885 to the entire satisfac- tion, not only of his party, but of the citizens of the ward. This contest was a turning-point in Mr. Brennen's life, as it was indirectly the cause of his adoption of the legal profession. His attorney on that occasion was so im- pressed with his fitness for the bar that he repeatedly urged him to begin a course of legal studies. Yielding to this pressure, Mr. Brennen registered as a student with J. K. P. Duff, of Pittsburg, and was admitted to prac- tice in 1883. . In the same year he entered into partnership with Mr. Duff, under the firm name of Duff & Brennen. In 1888 the senior partner retired, leaving Mr. Brennen to carry on the business alone. He has now a large and constantly increasing practice, and his ability is generally recognized. He takes
civil, criminal, and patent law cases; and he represents many building and loan associations besides a number of large corporations. He is a director of the T. Campbell Glass Com- pany, of Pittsburg, and of the Blair Land Company.
Mr. Brennen has always been a loyal and active Democrat. In 1876 he was chosen delegate to the Democratic National Conven- tion, being the youngest man in the conven- tion. In 1877 he was elected member of the Common Council from the Twenty-fourth Ward, and was appointed on the Gas and Light and the Retrenchment and Reform Com- mittees. While in the Council, he secured the passage of a resolution requesting the legisla- ture to authorize evening sessions of the Council, also of an ordinance relating to the cleaning of the city streets by con- tract, which was in force for four years, when, owing to some political wire-pulling, it was repealed. Mr. Brennen as a member of the Gas Lighting Committee was active in pushing the bill that provided for lighting the city streets with gasolene where gas was un- available. This ordinance is still in force. In 1878 Mr. Brennen ran for the legislature, but did not secure an election, being in a Re- publican district. In 1882, while holding the office of Alderman, he was elected Democratic county chairman, which position he held until 1895. In 1883 he was appointed clerk of the Committee on Labor at the national capital, and acted in that capacity for two years. He was a candidate for Auditor-general of Penn- sylvania in 1886 on the Democratic ticket, but was defeated. In 1890 he ran for Con- gress against John Dalzell, the present member from this district. Mr. Brennen has been on the stump in every campaign since 1876; and he has attended every Democratic State con- vention, except one, since 1874. In 1877 he
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was selected to represent the laboring people in an address at the great labor demonstration protesting against the Wood Tariff Bill. He was the president of the Machinists' and Black- smiths' Union for five years before it was merged in the Knights of Labor, which he assisted in organizing in Pittsburg.
Mr. Brennen has been counsel in many im- portant and well-known cases. He repre- sented the defence in the Homestead murder and treason cases; and he was counsel in the Brace boycott case, which was one of the earliest of its kind. He represented Alexan- der Craig in his contest against Andrew Stew- art for a seat in the Fifty-second Congress, and succeeded in unseating Stewart. He has been attorney for the Amalgamated Associa- tion of Iron and Steel Workers for years, and of other trade unions, notably of the Ameri- can Flint Green Bottle Glass Workers and of the United Coal Miners' Union.
APTAIN HANCE M. DUNLAP, one of the old-time vessel masters of the Ohio River, now retired from active business and living in Allegheny, Pa., was born in County Down, Ireland, March 3, 1817, son of Hance and Sarah (McClelland) Dunlap. The family is of Scotch descent, Grandfather Dunlap having been born in Strenraras, Scotland.
Hance Dunlap, the father, was born in 1788, in County Down, Ireland, and was a schoolmaster in that county before he emi- grated to America. He arrived in New York in March, 1818, when his son, Hance M., was a year old; and, after teaching school for a year, he brought his family to Washington County, Pennsylvania, then the Far West, making the journey with a six-horse team. Mr. Dunlap and his family lived on the farm
of an uncle until the spring of 1822. In April of that year they removed to Allegheny City, which then embraced a population of not over five hundred souls, the entire Fourth Ward being occupied by brickyards. Captain Hance remembers seeing, when a lad on his way to school, the first packet that ever came down the canal, this water-way not being com- pleted until 1826. Mr. Dunlap had learned forestry in Ireland; and he soon became a lead- ing gardener in Allegheny, having the first fine garden in the town, located on what is now Ridge Avenue at the corner of Grant Street, where Mr. A. M. Byers is now build- ing. He was engaged in farming for Mr. J. H. Towne for several years, until the latter was called to Boston to superintend the light- ing of that city by gas; and then Mr. Dunlap was employed by others. He followed this business until his death, which occurred on November 1, 1832.
His wife, Sarah, to whom he was married in ISO8, was a native of County Down, Ireland. She died in 1839. Both parents were stanch Presbyterians, belonging to what was then known as the Associated Reform church, now the United Presbyterian. They were mem- bers of old Dr. Kerr's church on Sixth Street, Pittsburg, when the town had but three churches. Later they attended the first church built on this side of the river, which was started by Dr. John T. Presly in 1837, and which is now known as the First United Presbyterian Church. Mr. Dunlap was sur- vived by six children; but the only one now living is the special subject of this sketch, Hance M. The Captain's brothers and sis- ters were: Jane; Sarah, who married Daniel Graham, a soldier in the late war, now de- ceased; William and Hamilton, who both served in the war; and Mary, who was the wife of William Oliver.
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HANCE M. DUNLAP.
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Hance M. Dunlap in his boyhood went to school here four years in the old school-house that was on the corner of the Diamond and afterward on North Avenue. After leaving school he was for five years in a store on State Street belonging to his uncle, Gawn H. Dun- lap; and later he was for a year with James McCully, the well-known flour merchant and grocer on Wood Street. When but eighteen years of age, young Dunlap started a store for himself at 36 Ohio Street, where he was highly successful. He erected a building in 1841, but was burned out in the mob fire of 1849. He then put up the building which still stands there, and in which a grocery busi- ness has been conducted ever since. After eight years of close application to business his health failed, and he went over the moun- tains to Philadelphia and New York. He was advised by his physician to go into some busi- ness that would keep him in the open air, and accordingly he secured a place as second clerk for a year in the great "American Eagle," a side wheel boat running on the river. He . next went in the steamer "Mary Ann," owned by Captain W. W. Martin and Captain D. Z. Brickell. These gentlemen built a new boat, the "Washington," in which Captain Dunlap had an interest ; and he ran on these two boats from Pittsburg to St. Louis. After a time he became second clerk of the "Empire State," and was in her until she was sold ; and, after the "Diadem " was rebuilt and called the "St. Clair," he was second clerk of that boat and owned an interest in her. From 1850 to 1854 he was her captain, and at the end of that time he sold her to a St. Louis company. He then spent a year or two on the steamboat "Jennie Gray," and later was captain for a year of the steamer "Rochester." He after- ward had an interest in two boats which were taken by the government and paid for ; namely,
the "Argosy," built by Captain George W. Reed in 1859, and "Argosy, No. 2." Cap- tain Dunlap was in the dry-goods and carpet business from 1860 to 1881, when he retired. His former partner, George W. Snaman, is still carrying on the business, Captain Dunlap owning the building, which was erected in 1865. The Captain's pleasant home is at 19 Buena Vista Street.
Captain Dunlap was for five years a director in the Allegheny Trust Company, and for eighteen years, and until the war closed, di- rector of the old Diamond Savings Bank. He was for six years a member of the Council, and served on the Committees on Finance and on Streets. For twenty-seven years he was a member of the School Board, and was on all the important committees, and spent more time in visiting schools than any other man in the Second Ward. He helped to finish the North Avenue School in 1859, and furnished it. He also superintended the Irvin Avenue School Building, and, when the annex was built, superintended its construction. In politics Captain Dunlap is a Republican. He voted for William Henry Harrison for president in 1840, and in 1856 for John C. Fremont. He has been a member of the First United Pres- byterian Church of Allegheny since its organ- ization, and for over twenty years one of its trustees.
On December 5, 1839, Captain Dunlap was united in marriage with Sarah Ann, daughter of Richard Short, of Butler County. She was born near the town of Butler, but came with her parents to Allegheny in 1837. Captain and Mrs. Dunlap have had twelve children, of whom six are living. Their son Thomas M., who was for many years in business in Pitts- burg, was two years in the army with the Ninth Reserves of Pittsburg. He was at Richmond up the James River, and on the
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second day of the fight became ill, and was sent with others to the mouth of the river. His brother James, who also was in the army, died in 1892, leaving a widow and two chil- dren. Hance M. Dunlap, Jr., is in the under- taking business in Allegheny, and Harry Grant Dunlap carries on a commission busi- ness at Kansas City. Ellen J. is the wife of George W. Snaman, the Federal Street mer- chant. Sarah M. Dunlap died in 1890. An- netta H. is the wife of John A. Gilleland, formerly Postmaster here, and has two sons. Kittie Dunlap married W. C. Voight, one of the older commission merchants of Pittsburg.
OBERT OSTERMAIER, Magistrate of Pittsburg and Delinquent Tax Col- lector, was born in Pittsburg, Janu- ary 2, 1857, son of John and Katherine Ostermaier. Both parents, who were born in Germany, emigrated from that country to Pittsburg, where the family has since resided, the father now being deceased. They had six sons and one daughter.
Robert Ostermaier was educated in the pub- lic schools of this city, and later graduated from Iron City (Commercial) College. When sixteen years old he entered the Pittsburg post-office as clerk. Here subsequently he served successively in every position except that of Postmaster. He was Assistant Post- master in President Cleveland's first term, ful- filling the duties of this responsible position in a manner characterized by sterling ability and scrupulous fidelity. Upon retiring from the post-office, Mr. Ostermaier became clerk in the office of Mayor McCallin, and later filled a like position under Mayor Gourley. A few years ago be was chosen secretary of the Republican City Executive Committee, in which capacity he won the estecm of the
party leaders throughout the State. When his candidacy for Police Magistrate was an- nounced, his fitness for the position was im- mediately recognized, and his election was regarded as assured. In January, 1897, at a meeting of both branches of the Council, he was unanimously elected Collector of Unpaid Taxes, which office he assumed on May 17, 1897.
On April 17, 1879, Mr. Ostermaier was united in marriage with Miss Sarah, daughter of Edwin Hutchison. Mr. Hutchison, who was born in England, came to America when a young man, bringing with him his wife, Elizabeth Jones Hutchison, of Wales. They lived in Lawrenceville, but have now been deceased some thirty years. Mr. and Mrs. Ostermaier's home is 184 Forty-sixth Street. He is a member of the Heptasophs, the Royal Arcanum, the John Dalzell Republican Club, the Young Men's Republican Tariff Club, the Metropolitan Camping Club, and of Saratoga Council, No. 262, Junior O. U. A. M. Both he and his wife are active members of the Butler Street Methodist Episcopal Church, and have a large circle of friends.
LONZO DOW HUSTED, M.D., of Pittsburg, Pa., president of the South Side Medical Society, and a medical practitioner of ten years' standing, was born in Philadelphia in 1855, son of Hosea and Catharine (Davis) Husted. His grandfather was a wealthy resident of a New Jersey coast town, where his father was born.
Mr. Hosea Husted settled in Pittsburg when a young man, afterward was a soldier in the Mexican War, and upon his return to the East lived in Philadelphia for some years. In 1850 he came again to Pittsburg with his fam- ily, and was here during the cholera epidemic.
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In response to President Lincoln's call in 1861, he enlisted for three months, served his time, and twice re-enlisted, serving over three years. During this time he was twice pro- moted, and was appointed Field Hospital Steward. He was with Dr. Kerr at the famous Haystack Hospital, which was sheiled by the rebels. A bomb entered just after the completion of an operation, and the patient was killed by its bursting, the door on which he lay being entirely destroyed. After seeing much active service, Mr. Husted received his honorable discharge. Accepting employment in the Ihmsen Glass House, he was crippled in the hand by an accident occurring there; and this circumstance prevented his returning to his regiment as he had purposed doing. Mr. Ihmsen was a Councilman, and secured Mr. Husted an appointment on the borough police. He served the town of Birmingham until it was annexed to Pittsburg, when he continued to serve for a time under Mayor Blackmore. He subsequently returned to his Philadelphia home with his eldest son, from there going to Florida to manage an orange grove owned by his son; and he died there in 1893, in the seventy-fourth year of his age.
Mrs. Husted was the daughter of John Davis, and was born upon his estate in Car- diganshire, South Wales. Her father came to Pittsburg in middle life, and lived here until he was killed in an accident. Mrs. Husted died in 1887, leaving the following children : Charles Husted, of Philadelphia; the Rev. A. E. Husted, pastor of the Kensington Meth- odist Episcopal Church; Dr. Husted, of Pittsburg; Hosea, Jr. ; Jeanette; George, cir- culation manager of the Washington Observer ; and John, the circulation manager of the Alle- gheny Record. Calvin R. Husted, founder .of Husted City, Col., and a wealthy resident of Colorado Springs, is an uncle of the Doctor.
After a limited course of study in the com- mon English branches Alonzo D. Husted engaged in the drag business. His evenings were spent most profitably with a private tutor; and his studies in medical science, which he began while a youth in his teens, were continued for fifteen years before he finally received his degree. During that time he was connected with various industries in earning his living. He learned the carver's trade, and was employed in Hay's planing- mill until that establishment was burned, afterward working in the iron works of Lewis, Oliver & Phillips. He was also for a time with the Western Union Telegraph Company, and, upon becoming an expert operator, was given charge of six miles of wire belonging to the iron firm with which he was formerly asso- ciated, on condition that he act as surgical assistant among the many employees. He was later made manager of their factory, retaining his position in attendance upon cripples. After a thirteen years' connection with Lewis, Oliver & Phillips, and already equipped with a practical knowledge of surgery, he resigned his position to enter the University of Wooster, now the College of Physicians and Surgeons, at Cleveland, Ohio, where he was graduated in 1887.
Returning to Pittsburg, after passing suc- cessfully his post-graduate examinations, Dr. Husted located on the South Side of the city, also opening an office in Allentown, and after a short stay removing to the vicinity of his present residence, which is at 36 Washington Avenue. The Doctor is a member of the South Side Medical Society, of which he is at the present time the president. He has been a member of the South Side Hospital Staff of medical advisers since its inception, and his active influence has done much toward estab- lishing the high standards of that hospital.
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He belongs to several fraternities, among them the Elite Lodge, I. O. O. F., No. 842; the Knights of the Ancient Essenic Order, on the South Side; Senate No. 949; and Hay's Camp, Sons of Veterans.
He married February 27, 1877, Emily Horton, who was born in Lawrence County, this State, daughter of Truman Beardsley Horton, a prominent Free Mason. Of their four children three are now living - George, Ronald Guy, and Elsie Belle - a son, Alonzo, having died at the age of fourteen months. Dr. and Mrs. Husted are both members of the Knoxville Presbyterian Church, and he was at one time an officer of the society.
The Doctor's success in life has come only through the most severe struggles and constant self-denial. Others were dependent on him for support at a time when a little saved would have been of great assistance to him in com- pleting his medical education, but his indom- itable will and long years of perseverance finally enabled him to command circumstances and follow his chosen life work. Throughout his career he has never admitted the use of the word "can't," and it is his belief that there is no such word as "fail."
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